


The Last Splatfest

by MagicallyWritten



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Adorable, Cute, Cutesy, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Girlfriends - Freeform, Girls Kissing, Happy Ending, Idols, Ketchup vs Mayo, Kissing, Love, Lovey-Dovey, Short & Sweet, Splatfest (Splatoon), Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24447307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicallyWritten/pseuds/MagicallyWritten
Summary: With the last Splatfest coming to an end, Marina and Pearl decide to come out to their fans.
Relationships: Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	The Last Splatfest

Pearl looked out of the studio window and watched the large crowd already gathering in the square, all wearing their team’s tees as well as neon lights showing support for both team ketchup and team mayo, a sign that the last Splatfest was about to begin. She reached her hand up to touch the glass, a barrier between the world outside and their cozy studio, yet the glass never gave her nor Marina any privacy together.

“Are you already finished getting ready, Pearl?” Marina’s voice brought Pearl out of her thoughts as her partner entered the studio. The octoling wore her normal stage attire save for her leggings and nails which were red to match team ketchup’s color.

Pearl turned her head to the side to glance at Marina, “I am.” She said, waving at her own attire which matched team mayo’s colors.

“Good! We should go out and get the last Splatfest started then—loser has to buy burgers with the winning condiment on them!” Marina clapped her hands together as she licked her lips, already imagining a juicy burger with ketchup on it.

Pearl rolled her eyes, “Oh so you’re going to buy yourself and I another burger slathered in mayonnaise? Mmm, can’t wait!” She turned to face towards Marina, leaning her back against the window as the octoling stuck her tongue out in disapproval.

“Gross! As if mayo is going to win again!” She then smiled softly, tucking one of her octoling tentacles behind her ear, “Come on Pearl, let’s address the crowd and get the party started!” Marina began to walk towards the exit of the studio, but Pearl stayed still, her gaze falling to the floor. When Marina noticed her partner hadn’t moved, she turned back towards her with concern, “Pearl? Is everything alright?”

“Not really, no…” She frowned, crossing her arms in front of her.

Marina’s face turned to worry as she quickly went over to Pearl, “Oh no, what’s wrong?”

“I want to tell them, Marina.”

Marina paused, tilting her head in confusion, “You… what?”

Pearl finally glanced at the other’s eyes, a pout on the inkling’s face, “I want to tell them about our relationship, our fans…” She glanced out the window again, seeing the inklings and octolings getting ready for the event, “They still don’t know—from day one we’ve had to hide it because of the studio that signed us wanted us to stay single so the fans could dream that maybe, just maybe they’d be able to get with us, but really it was just a way for the company to control us… our fans, our true fans, they’d understand our relationship! Besides,” She glanced back towards Marina, “it’s been hard, dealing with people professing their love for you or for me and pairing us with other celebrities when we’re already happily in love with each other! Those are the fans that our company wants us to be available for, but they’re not in love with our music, they’re in love with the idea of getting with us.”

Marina rubbed the back of her neck, “But Pearl, this is what we signed up for—we knew from day one we couldn’t tell anyone about us. The corporation, the one that signed us and helped us become famous stated in the contract we weren’t allowed to show our relationship. We had to stay available for our fans to imagine themselves with us, to become more popular and it worked—"

“I know! But for fish sakes Marina we saved the world and yet we still can’t come out and… and… ugh!” Pearl snapped, slamming a hand against the glass behind her, which caused Marina to jump. Pearl’s burst of anger quickly disappeared when she saw Marina become startled and she quickly said, “I’m sorry for scaring you…”

“It’s alright, you’re angry, it’s alright to be angry my dear.”

Pearl's shoulders slumped down as she looked back at the ground, “Aren’t you angry, too?”

Marina glanced outside, making sure no one was looking as she caressed Pearl's face, “Of course I’m angry about it, I regret signing that contract every day of my life that I have to watch behind my back when I so much as hold your hand.”

Pearl looked back at Marina with wide eyes, glistened by tears that she was obviously fighting to hold back, “See, that’s not right! Then… then let us do it! Tonight, let’s break that stupid contract!” Pearl shouted excitedly.

Marina’s eyebrows furrowed as she let go of Pearls face, “But we can get in serious trouble for that—”

“And? I don’t care! What, they sue us? I have the money. They take the contract away? We lose our jobs giving the news, we lose our status as pop idols, our credibility? I don’t care! I can sing in small clubs with you, I can live a comfortable life with you, as long as I can show my affection for you without having to make sure nobody is around to see us, I don’t care about the ramifications.”

“That’s quite reckless though!”

“You love me for my recklessness though, Marina!” 

Marina gave her girlfriend a small smile, “I mean, you’re not wrong there…”

“It’s just, this is the last Splatfest! We’ve grown to be equal to the Squid Sisters in popularity! We have fans from everywhere, fans that will follow us no matter what, and if this company lets us go for breaking our contract the chances are high that another will pick us up on our fame alone and even if that doesn’t happen we’re still popular enough to continue making music… what I’m saying is, they can’t control us anymore!” Pearl spoke incredibly fast, trying to both figure out what will happen after they come out as well as justifying it to Marina, but the inkling finally took a breath before grabbing Marina’s hands, holding them in her own, “But I want to make sure it’s alright with you, first.”

Marina giggled at the sentiment, “You seem dead set on announcing our relationship to everyone already.”

Pearl nodded before speaking in a slower, softer tone, “I am, but if you aren’t on board with this, I won’t say anything. This contract involves the two of us, and besides that, I know you don’t enjoy having your personal life in the spotlight. If you’re not alright with it, I’ll say and do nothing, I promise.”

Marina stayed quiet and Pearl watched her, wondering what she was thinking, before the other finally spoke, “Come on, Pearlie, of course, I’m alright with it. I want everyone to know about us, I want you and I to be free from these restraints.”

Pearl was surprised by her answer, “Really? Truly?” She gaped. “It’s just, you’re usually uh, reserved.”

Marina giggled again, “Yes, really, truly. I mean, I won’t lie, I’m nervous as all get out about it, you know, about what will happen in the future, what our fans will think, how we’ll be put in the public-eye and be on every news station…” Marina’s smile turned to a frown before she puffed out her cheeks in determination, “But all of that is nothing compared to not being able to hold my girlfriend’s hand in public!”

Pearl’s eyes were just as wide as her smile as she thought Marina would be against breaking their contract and telling everyone about them, “Oh Marina, you’re always so full of surprises!” She said enthusiastically and, without checking outside the window, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss the other woman’s cheek. 

Marina blushed, wrapping her arms around Pearl’s back, “Come now, let’s go give them a show they’ll never forget!”

Together, holding hands, the two exited the studio and went towards the back of the large stage set in the center of Inkopolis Square. Pearl switched on the lights of the stage as the inklings and octolings out front began to turn their attention towards the stage, waiting for the idols to announce the start of the Splatfest. Pearl took a deep breath and sighed it out, trying to get rid of all the nerves that had built up, and she glanced up at Marina, seeing the octoling bite her lips. “I’ve done so many difficult performances before, somewhere I even got booed off the stage, and I even helped save the world, yet this one is the most nerve-wracking I’ve ever been…” Marina muttered.

Pearl pulled her close to her, wrapping her arm around her waist, “Hey, Marina, hey, it’s alright, I’m here if it gets too much, too overwhelming, just look at me, I’ll be there for you and for you alone.”

Marina put her arm around Pearl’s shoulder, gently rubbing her thumb against the inkling’s skin, “Thank you, Pearl, I’ll remember that on stage…”

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

The two walked out onto the stage together, holding onto each other as the inklings and octolings cheered their arrival, not even pausing when they saw the two idols with their arms wrapped around each other.

“We’re Off the Hook! Coming at you LIVE from the middle of Inkopolis Square!” Marina waved her free hand towards the crowd.

“Y’all feeling fresh!?” Pearl called out and cheering began to spread across the crowd in front of the stage. “Awesome!” Pearl said, letting go of Marina’s waist, “Before we start, though, I—”

“We!” Marina cut in.

“Ah, yes, sorry, WE have something to say!” Pearl corrected and waited for the crowd to quiet down so they could hear what she was about to say. “We have something that we haven’t been able to tell you until tonight—and we still aren’t supposed to say anything, but we want to tell you both for yourselves and for our fans!” Pearl gestured towards Marina, “Marina and I are dating, and have been for quite some time before we even began directing the news we were a couple. Marina, the moment you said yes to joining a band with me and then later said yes to being my girlfriend made me the happiest inkling in all of Inkopolis!”

Marina smiled, a large blush appearing across her cheeks as her tentacles hid her face, “You’re so sweet Pearl!” She squeaked. 

The fans of the crowd let out a combined “Aww,” which caused Pearl to begin to blush, something that wasn’t easy to make her do, but she wasn’t finished yet.

“And you know what? We’ve had to hide our relationship because of our company’s contract! So, this is for that company…” Pearl held up her hands, two fingers stretched up in an obscene gesture which was directed at the camera broadcasting their Splatfest. The crowd roared with approval as Marina gapsed and grabbed Pearl's hands, forcing them down.

“P-Pearl!” She laughed, the nerves leaving her as euphoria replaced them, the crowd’s response and Pearl had made coming out so easy for her, she barely even realized anything had happened at all.

“Sorry Marina, sorry!” Pearl snickered, clearly not sorry at all. She then gently took Marina’s hand, kissing from the top of her hand up her arm, the crowd giggling and cheering as Marina stood completely still, blushing heavily as Pearl finally reached her face and gave her a peck on the lips, “I love you.” She said, paying attention to nothing else around them besides Marina, the noise of the crowd washing into the background.

“I love you too,” Marina said softly as Pearl reached up to tuck one of her girlfriend’s tentacles behind her ear, and Marina gave her a sweet smile, gently caressing her cheek. “This was worth everything and more.” She said, and Pearl nodded in response, giving Marina one last longing look before turning her gaze back to the audience.

“Now we’re going to give you all the best Splatfest ever! Start the music, my love!”

“R-right!” Marina stuttered, still blushing heavily as she rushed over to her turntables, hands shaking with excitement as she began the music.

Pearl brought the microphone close to her lips, “Come on Inkopolis, give it up for your lesbian pop idols as we find out which condiment is truly the best—mayo or ketchup!” 

The crowd cheered, a bunch of “Woomy! Ngyes! Veemo! Oomi!” spreading throughout the crowd as the inklings and octolings held up flags and danced along with Pearl and Marina’s upbeat music, signaling the beginning of the last Splatfest.


End file.
